have more adventures

Whoa, what an adventure! On the way down to Leeds, due to the undoubtedly crap route taken by our beloved Megabus, I had my first hitch-hiking experience! In making our way out of the sulphurous entrance to hell that is Woolley Edge Service Station, we finally received a lift from a kindly bloke called Owen from the West Country who talked to us about scrumpy. A really positive first experience, so it was.

Queer Insurrection was a lot of fun, we were staying in a squatted house in Leeds, which has become one of my favourite cities. Took part in a lot of interesting discussions (re-radicalizing queer and queer history in particular), met some great folks, watched naff porn, danced to Prince til 4am… :D

On the 22nd I managed to head over to see one of my favourite bands, Defiance Ohio at Leeds uni. The atmosphere was a bit odd because of the time and venue but I was so excited to see them and it was a great gig regardless. The support, Madeline, was great as well.

On the 25th I headed from Leeds to Lancaster to see the band again! I was slightly nervous as I was relying on one of the people putting on the gig there (at the Yorkshire House, if youse are ever down that way I’d highly recommend it) for a place to kip, otherwise I’d be unrolling my sleeping bag in the Sainsbury’s car park pretty much. :/ He pulled through though and I had the use of a very comfortable couch that night (which seemed like a proper luxury after sleeping on the floor in Leeds the previous four days).

The gig itself was absolutely amazing though. The Lancaster support bands were really good (particularly Say Nice Things About Everyone and Get Serious) and Defiance Ohio themselves just blew me away. The atmosphere was much better than the Leeds gig, everyone was just singing their hearts out and dancing like crazy. Definitely one of the best gigs I’ve been to, if not the best.

To top it off, as I was staying with one of the organizers I got to chat with the band while they were getting packed up. They seem like such awesome folks, plus I got a hug off Will who’s such a sweetheart. Wow, fangirl moment. Squee.

Wow. Hung out with queer hippie pagans for four days which was a bit of an experience in itself. The emotional openness with which people approached things with really refreshing, if a bit tiring at times. I was really surprised at the extent to which everyone connected with each other – I would’ve expected a superficial bond, if any, to have taken place over a period of time so small, but… I dunno. It seems weird trying to explain it now, in this setting. The whole atmosphere was so different, in ways I can’t really put my finger on or express in words at least.

The setting was really beautiful as well. The Faeries there own however many acres of land it is, plus these old farmhouse buildings, where we slept, prepared meals, etc. Although it was only half an hour from the nearest town I don’t think I’ve ever felt so much that I was out in the wild, you know? The stars were utterly amazing as well – with the absence of light pollution, the sky was literally filled with them.

I had so many new experiences – swimming in a lake, cleaning out a compost toilet (!), collecting wild food for dinner, eating a baguette in Paris… :P

The workshops were great, the people were (mostly) really nice… all in all it was pretty amazing.

(thnx to Koen for the photo)